If we’re going to do economic recovery right, working families and small businesses need more protection, not less – that means investing in our essential services, like healthcare, education, and public safety, and preventing property tax increases for families by asking big corporations and the very wealthy to pay their fair share.
We need our elected officials to focus on tax fairness.
Ensuring tax fairness means: closing corporate tax loopholes, ensuring that the wealthiest among us pay their fair share of taxes, and providing property tax relief for working Mainers and small businesses.
Closing Corporate Tax Loopholes
Many big multinational corporations in Maine utilize tax loopholes to get out of paying their fair share for the use of our roads, our resources, and our workers. Some even use tax havens, which allow them to hide their profits overseas simply to avoid being taxed.
Closing corporate tax loopholes could generate upwards of $5 million in revenue for Maine, and eliminating tax havens could generate as much as $40 million, preventing cuts to essential programs or considerable tax hikes that would hurt families who are already struggling.
Ensuring the Wealthiest Pay Their Fair Share
The economic impacts of COVID-19 were exacerbated by tax cuts for the wealthiest Mainers that were provided during Governor LePage’s administration.
If we place a wealth tax on Maine’s highest net worth individuals and families and end the LePage income tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations, we could ensure that working Mainers are protected from shouldering the burden of our recovery, while guaranteeing continued access to the services they need most.
Providing Property Tax Relief
Mainers have been struggling with the rising property tax burden long before we were hit with this pandemic. Hikes is property taxes put a heavier burden on the working families and small businesses that have struggled the most during this crisis. Meanwhile, corporations are making record profits, and the wealthiest among us keep getting richer. Rather than put our recovery solely on our working families and small businesses, we should be asking the big corporations and the wealthiest individuals and families here in Maine to pay their fair share.
We’re not going to help hardworking families and small business owners get back on their feet if we force them to shoulder a disproportionate tax burden, or by cutting essential services they rely on to stay healthy. By focusing on tax fairness, our elected officials can help us pull through this crisis and keep our state successful long-term.
Comments